Plumbing the Darkness
by QueenTigris
Summary: Artemis finds a network of underground tunnels beneath the Manor. But what he doesn't know is that an evil creature waiting there, waiting for the day it will be freed and can take the world in its evil claws once again. Does the world have a chance?


A/N: Oh my, gosh! You wouldn't believe what I just came up with! I don't know from where or how it came to me, but it could be just as good, or even better, than my "Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories" story!!! So if you liked that one try this one! Okay, here is a quick summary of the story:  
  
Artemis discovers a series of secret passages underneath Fowl Manor. He ventures into the dark caverns, without Butler, and finds something that isn't exactly what he had expected. What he finds is the darkest of all the dark secrets of Fowl Manor... A creature... whose evil intentions are set on the world... (Don, don, don...)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Artemis Fowl and co. I DO own The Creature though...  
  
Plumbing the Darkness  
  
Prologue: The Vault is Unlocked  
  
Artemis walked down the corridor listening cautiously for the heavy footsteps of his bodyguard. If Butler caught him wandering around Fowl Manor at this hour he would confiscate his cell phone or the chemicals he used for his scientific experiments for sure. That was the down side of being a child prodigy, even with such a high IQ Artemis couldn't figure out how to escape his curfews.  
  
He turned a corner after making sure that the hallway was clear of anybody that had the power to punish him. He finally reached the cellar door, inside which was nothing but darkness. Artemis turned on the flashlight he had brought with him and carefully descended the stairway. Once at the bottom he carefully made his way across the dusty basement, this was one of the rooms that Juliet or the maids rarely cleaned, in fact, no one came here, except Artemis. Since the room was so rarely used the air was stagnant, but Artemis didn't mind. He didn't mind anything, not his nose, which was itching from all the dust, or that he stubbed his toe several times, all he was thinking about was what could be on the other side of that wall on the other side of the cellar. It had all started when he had created a machine out of his boredom that made a sort of radar that mapped Fowl Manor. He had been enjoying himself with watching the movements of the maids, Juliet, Butler, his parents, and all of the little pets he had been spoiled with when he noticed a blank spot underneath one of the cellars way back in the less accessible areas of Fowl Manor. Blank spots meant hollows, hollows meant tunnels, and these tunnels were not only under the cellar, but extended out all over the Manor. As Artemis knew very well, the Manor was about 100- 200 years old, back then tunnels might have been made so as to escape from invaders in the Manor or any other threat. Of course Artemis had ventured to explore these tunnels, which could easily be used to his advantage in many different situations (some involving fairies).  
  
Artemis reached the back of the cellar without any more toe stubbing or sneezes. He flashed the flashlight around the wall looking for a possible opening to the caverns below him, he blew away the dust on the floor in hopes of a trap door, he pressed his hand against the old stones lining the wall thinking there could possibly be a trick catch. Artemis frowned. Where could the doorway be? Then his flashlight passed over a large, old bureau. A small smile played across his lips. Of course, how could he miss that?  
  
He walked up to it and started to push against it, but to no avail. He tried pushing it with his shoulder as he had seen Butler do to various things many times, it didn't budge. He pushed harder, it still didn't move. He stopped and leant against the wall to rest from his arduous exertion, exercise wasn't exactly his cup of tea. When Artemis pressed his back against the wall he felt something shift, he fell backwards as the wall collapsed. He recovered quickly from his bewilderment and retrieved the flashlight from the floor where he had dropped it. He illuminated the wall which he had fallen through and winced. Apparently the stone wall had weakened tremendously with age and had finally collapsed when Artemis had applied his weight to it. Then Artemis moved the flashlight over his surroundings, he was in a tunnel alright, there were many different passages which he could follow. After a moment of contemplation he decided to take the one on the right.  
  
This one he followed for a short time before he came to a fork, he decided to take the one on the right again, and when he came to the next fork he would take another right, and another at the next, so he would know how to get back.  
  
Artemis felt the tunnel starting to decline, he wondered where it would lead. Down and down it went, he didn't reach another fork for at least twenty minutes, and of course, he took the tunnel most to the right. The tunnel continued to descend and Artemis got the sensation of spiraling downward into the earth. Soon he came to another fork, and another, both of which he took the tunnels to the right. Again the tunnels ventured downward, Artemis began to wonder if it would go deep enough to reach the fairies. But that was impossible, the air would most likely be too difficult to breathe and the gravity would crush him before he got even halfway down.  
  
Artemis turned right at another fork and continued his journey downward. The tunnel twisted and turned this way and that, but never ceased to decline. The only sound was that of his feet crunching the gravel of the floor. There was no movement other than himself, no even a rat or a spider. The air was stale and smelled peculiarly. There wasn't even a ghost of a spider web, Artemis frowned at that. He had prepared himself for lots of huge, sticky webs, but there weren't any. That was odd, shouldn't there be spider webs in a place like this? Then a thought came to him. Maybe this place was still empty because of the blue rinse three years ago... But then wouldn't the webs be left behind? And Artemis was yet to come across the dead body of a rat.  
  
He dismissed these thoughts because he could not come up with any reasonable answer. His mind turned toward where he was going. He had not come to any forks recently, and the tunnel seemed to be getting steeper. And wetter, his foot would disturb a small puddle of water every once in a while sending an eerie echo of splashing water through the tunnel. Artemis shivered in his thin PJs the air was cold down here.  
  
After a few more minutes the tunnel leveled out, but down there Artemis's teeth constantly chattered from the chilled air. He began to wonder if it would be better to turn back. Until he reached the end of the tunnel, huge stone doors loomed before him, they had to be almost twice as tall as Butler and four times as wide. Runes and symbols covered the entirety of the doors, he leaned in close to see what they were, but age and water had withered them and were impossible to make out.  
  
Then Artemis noticed the heavy rusted chains that held the doors closed. He blinked wondering what could be important enough to be locked up underneath his own Manor. He grinned as thoughts of what the contents of this ancient vault could be came to him. Gold? Silver? Precious gems? Expensive jewelry? Priceless artifacts? Important ancient scripts to be deciphered? The possibilities almost made Artemis drool. Without further thought he kicked the chains, they broke easily, being so rusty and old, and slid off the double doors.  
  
He was about to push the heavy stone doors open himself when they opened of their own accord. A blast of icy air from the chamber within froze him to the bone. But he ignored his goose bumped skin and entered the dark chamber.  
  
Inside it was dark, very dark. The beam of his flashlight seemed smaller, like the darkness around it was pushing inward, trying to envelope the light and Artemis. He shivered from the cold. Then he saw it, piles and piles of it, he gasped. Gold. Silver, gems, jewelry, studded swords and daggers, crowns, old style coins, huge carved and gold and silver inlaid chests. It was all that Artemis had ever dreamed of and more. Beautiful ivory tusks inlaid with gold from India, solid gold burial masks from Ancient Egypt, gem studded crowns and jewelry from the royalties of ancient times. There was so much here, from all different time periods and cultures. Artemis's eyes were wide, the treasures seemed so real, could it really be? But when he reached out and touched a ruby and sapphire studded sword he knew, it was all real, it was all his. He marveled at the enormous stacks of priceless items.  
  
Then his flashlight's beam fell upon a large object in the middle of the room. It glittered in the light, jewels twinkled. Artemis moved closer to determine what it was. Gold, solid, pure gold. Gems of great value and beauty studded the object. Then he saw what it was, a coffin. He shivered, remembering the cold. This solid gold box sat in the middle of the room, away from all the stacks of other artifacts, so this had to have some sort of importance to it. That's how all adventure stories went, the big shiny thing in the middle of the room was always the most important, or the most dangerous. He shivered again. He noticed lettering on the surface and leaned in with the flashlight to see what it said. To his great surprise, it was Gnommish. A million questions sprang up into his mind. Had his ancestors had dealings with fairies too? Was all this gold and things what his ancestors had managed to salvage from the fairies because of those possible dealings? Why would it be locked up down here? Was there anything in the coffin? If there was, was it his great-great- great-great-great-great grandfather? Or was it his great-great- great-great-great-great grandmother? If the person in the coffin wasn't related to him then who was it? Was it a fairy? A centaur? A dwarf? Was there just more gold in there? Where the runes on the doors Gnommish too? The list of questions and possibilities were endless, and he meant to do the best he could to find out what the answers were.  
  
He focused the flashlight at the beginning of the Gnommish lettering. He said aloud what he read, with the room full of gold echoing:  
  
"Here lies the one who is yet to die,  
  
Many times did he rise, to rake the world,  
  
Of the most precious,  
  
Both lives and objects did he take,  
  
Now in deep slumber does he wait,  
  
For the one to free him of his confinement,  
  
So that he may take the life of that one,  
  
And once again take the world,  
  
In his greedy claws."  
  
Artemis blinked, that sounded spooky, kind of like one of those horror movies where some stupid guy wakes up some evil monster that destroys the world. He looked at the coffin, and saw that there was more writing. Artemis put the flashlight on that and spoke fluently in Gnommish what it said:  
  
"Many times you were bound,  
  
Many times you were freed,  
  
Now is the time,  
  
To awaken again,  
  
For the time has come,  
  
For you to wreak havoc on both the Earth, and Under.  
  
Awake, ancient evil,  
  
The time has come for you to feed."  
  
Before Artemis had finished the last word the ground beneath his feet began to shake. The chamber lit up as torches mounted on the walls flared with green light. The gold and jewels strewn across the room glittered and shimmered eerily in the sudden light.  
  
Then the coffin began to oscillate, spurts of green light came from the small space between the lid and the box. Artemis stepped back dropping the flashlight. His eyes widened in terror. An earth shattering shriek sounded through the chamber, but it was not Artemis's shriek- he was too scared to make a noise- the heart chilling sound came from the coffin. Artemis watched, frozen in place by fear, as the coffin lid began to slide. Eerie green light shone from within the coffin as the heavy golden lid fell to the floor.  
  
The floor's oscillation ceased and the light from the coffin died down. For a few moments all was still, the only sounds were Artemis's quick heart beat and heavy breathing.  
  
Then, in one jerky motion, a horrid creature sat up from the coffin. Artemis jumped backwards into the piles of gold. The creature before him was the shape and size of a regular man with black hair and eyes like deep pits of nothingness and death. But the creature was decaying; rotting skin splotched his pale complexion. The terrible smell of rotting flesh emanated from the creature, making Artemis gag.  
  
For a moment it sat stock still in the coffin, and then it raised its hands, examining them. The creature stretched, as if awakening from a long deep slumber. Then its eyes turned on Artemis. The coal black orbs bore into him, chilling his heart. Artemis tried to swallow, but found a hard lump of fear in his throat.  
  
Then the creature grinned, exposing its fangs in an evil grin that chilled Artemis's very soul. It climbed out of its coffin clumsily, and limped over to Artemis on half rotted legs, its grin never leaving its face. Artemis scrambled backwards, away from this terrifying creature. But the creature grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up towards the creature's grinning face. Artemis squirmed and screamed, but only managed to draw more blood from the claws embedded in his shoulder. The creature set him on his feet; its other hand came around his waist, pulling poor, doomed Artemis against his smelly rotting body to hold Artemis still. He was too terrified to fight as the creature's hand left his shoulder and tilted his head back, exposing his neck.  
  
Artemis screamed, squirming in the creature's steel grip. The creature leaned forward into Artemis's neck. Artemis cried out in pain as he felt cold fangs bite into his throat. His body went limp as an icy wave of cold washed over his body, and then it started. Severe pain enveloped Artemis's body, he felt like the life was being sucked right out of him. He became more and more tired, his eye lids growing heavy. He no longer had the strength to scream from the pain that swathed his body. Soon Artemis had left consciousness and was left at the non-existent mercy of this horrid creature.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis groaned, his body felt like ice, and the wound in his neck still bled. He opened his eyes and found himself starting as the stone ceiling of the chamber of the creature that had bitten him. He tried to get up but found himself chained down, and too tired to try to break the rusty old chains that held him. Artemis looked around finding himself chained to a sort of altar he hadn't noticed at the back of the vault. He shivered, feeling the cold more than ever.  
  
A sinister cackle came from the shadows to Artemis's left. Then the creature appeared out of the shadows on whisper silent feet, the same evil grin plastered to his face. But the creature's face was different, where rotting flesh had been before now there was only smooth milk-white skin. His entire body seemed revived.  
  
Artemis shifted on the altar table as the creature stepped closer, pure fear showing in his eyes. Now it was standing next to him, his evil grin, and his chilling eyes boring into him. Artemis moved as far away as he could from the evil creature. The creature's grin widened at Artemis's attempt of withdrawal.  
  
Then it spoke, "I don't believe I've introduced myself, I am Christopher the Shifting Wraith."  
  
Artemis shivered, not liking the way he had said that, it definitely didn't sound good.  
  
The creature- Christopher- continued, "So Artemis Fowl Jr., I suppose you would like an explanation of what exactly a Shifting Wraith is, yes?"  
  
Artemis paled even more than he already was (if that is possible), "H-how d-d-do y-you kn-know my n-name?" He said shakily.  
  
Christopher continued to grin. "All will be explained." He crossed his arms getting ready to tell a long story. "I am, as I have already told you, a Shifting Wraith. A Shifting Wraith is a very powerful and intelligent creature, we live off misery, destruction, and pain."  
  
Artemis shivered, feeling a different sort of cold now.  
  
Christopher continued, "As you first saw me, my body was decaying. But when I drank your blood new life flowed into my body. Then my body was renewed to a healthy state.  
  
"You asked me how I knew your name, yes? Well, along with the blood I could take your memories."  
  
Artemis's eyes widened, "W-what? B-but how?"  
  
Christopher's eyes flashed, "I wasn't finished speaking, human."  
  
Artemis's cheek stung from where Christopher slapped him.  
  
"Now," Christopher said presently, "I shall continue.  
  
"I," he gestured to himself, "am a magical creature, just like the fairies are."  
  
Artemis swallowed, it was true then, he could take memories, he knew about the fairies.  
  
Christopher grinned, having dropped a bombshell. "I am not sure if you humans with your puny minds can understand magic. But, by the way of magic I now have all your memories, and all your knowledge."  
  
Artemis shivered, 'does he really know everything?'  
  
"And yet," Christopher continued, "you still have all your memories. I only have copies, yes? But now that I have drunk your blood and have your memories there is one more thing I can do."  
  
Artemis had a feeling what Christopher was about to do was not something that would be in his favor.  
  
Then green eerie light glowed around Christopher, he was soon completely enveloped in light and Artemis had to close his eyes from the brightness. When he opened them again he could swear he was looking into a mirror. Where Christopher had been standing now stood... well, himself. But that was impossible, the real him was chained to the altar... unless that was Christopher.  
  
The fraudulent Artemis grinned, just like Christopher. "Yes, that's right, I look like you now. But I am still Christopher the Shifting Wraith. This is the main reason we are called Shifting Wraiths, because we can Shift into different shapes. Which is oh so convenient for taking over other people's lives."  
  
Artemis's eyes widened even farther than they already were, making him look like a fish when he opened his mouth.  
  
"And that is exactly what I am going to do," said Christopher, "I am going to take your place in life and since you are conveniently the heir to a rich family my quest will be so much easier."  
  
Artemis swallowed, his voice small and squeaky, "What is your quest, pray tell?"  
  
Christopher grinned, "To take over the world of course, with the rest of my kind."  
  
"There are more of you???" Artemis's voice squeaked.  
  
Christopher started to walk away, then at the chamber door he turned around. "Of course there are. We are spread all across the world, and I mean to wake everyone up." And then, Christopher was gone, headed back up to Fowl Manor to take over Artemis's life.  
  
Artemis was left alone in this cold lonely chamber. He was surrounded by gold and precious things that would get a fortune on the market. But Artemis didn't care for the gold anymore, now he worried about his life, what the creature would do. He was worried about his family and the Butlers. He worried about his only friends, Holly, Mulch, and Foaly. He worried for the whole world. Realization was in his eyes as Artemis realized what he had done.  
  
"WHAT HAVE I UNLEASHED????" His yell was heard by no one. Now he knew why the tunnels under Fowl Manor were empty of any sign of life.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Oooh... scary.... Hehehehehe.... MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! I left you all at a cliff hanger! Muahahahahaha!!!! I am pure evil!!! Will Butler and his parents notice the switch between Artemis and Christopher? Will Artemis ever be freed from the chamber of Christopher? The next chapters will only tell!  
  
A/N2: I am thinking of making this a romance between Artemis and Holly. I am not sure though, care to take a vote my devoted readers? Send me reviews on what you think!  
  
A/N3: I am putting this here out of desperation, me and my friend started a Artemis Fowl fan group at Yahoo. We need more members! Go read my bio for more information. Please! Join us!  
  
~Kitty~ 


End file.
